Insert Catchy Saying Here

Albuquerque 2015

Having departed Texas after being there for 7 months, I was headed west, which meant I needed to swing by and see my buddy and his wife in Albuquerque. The ABQ was my first destination when I left on this journey in April 2014, and it was time to return. After all my ABQ people might not survive if I don’t make at least an annual appearance!

Enchanted Trails RV Park

When I was here last year I had met fellow fulltimers at Enchanted Trails RV Park on the west side of Albuquerque, just off I-40. Enchanted Trails is a pretty boring RV park as it is essentially a gravel lot, but it is easy to get to from my friend’s house, so I bit the bullet and reserved a spot here. I figured I could tough it out for the 10 nights I was in town, but boy, was that rough!

Enchanted Trails has a Route 66 theme going on as it is originally from that era. There are interesting antiques in the main building and cool vintage trailers that you can rent. But that is about where the cool factor stops. Oh, I guess one more thing it has going for it is the easy access to Camping World next door. Is that a plus??

Um, good spacing?

Love thy neighbor

Yup, that is I-40

Classic trailers

Laundry room

After 10 nights of listening to the traffic on I-40, and being feet away from my neighbors, I was ready to move on.

Old Haunts

I spent a lot of time at ABQ breweries a year ago, and I decided to cool it this time around. But that didn’t stop me from visiting two of my favorites in town – Tractor Brewing and Marble Brewery. And I made sure to buy some of my favorite Albuquerque beer to take on my journey. Cause they make some damn fine beer in that town!

Working at Tractor Brewing

Tractor Brewing eats

Marble Brewery flight

Unser Racing Museum

The Unser family is one of America’s racing dynasties, with Al Sr., Al Jr., and Bobby Unser being the most recognized, but their racing history goes back a couple of generations. And they happen to be from Albuquerque, so it is only natural that there is a museum showcasing their accomplishments, right?

I didn’t visit the Unser Racing Museum last year, so it was definitely on the agenda for this year after my friend suggested we hit it up.

The museum is split into two different buildings – the main building with several different galleries, and a secondary building that you had to be escorted into, which housed more cars, the trophy room, and an art collection.

Definitely a worthwhile visit if one is in Albuquerque and you are a racing fan. Enough talk! Onto the pics:

Flying

Albuquerque is where I got back into flying remote control planes after a 25 year or so hiatus, and it happens to have one of the best flying fields I have had the pleasure of using. The city has Balloon Fiesta Park that is the home of the annual Balloon Festival. When it isn’t filled with hot air balloons of all shapes and sizes, the park is a multi-purpose facility, including flying remote control planes. It is a huge, wide open space that is perfect for this, so we flew a couple of times.

The flying field

Getting my planes ready

Part of the fleet

Sandia Peak

The Sandia Mountains are a towering presence immediately to the east of Albuquerque. Last year I rode the tram to the top, so this year we drove around the backside to the top via the Sandia Crest Scenic Byway, an 11 mile, very twisty road to the top.

It was very windy and a bit cold at the top of the Sandias, with snow still on the ground, but we had a great hike. Finally made it to the Kiwanis Cabin which is perched at the top with a million dollar view.

Snow!

Kiwanis Cabin

View from Kiwanis Cabin

Going up higher

My 2015 visit to Albuquerque was a great success, but I have vowed to not go back in the springtime. Too. Much. Wind. We shall see if I manage to succeed here.